Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) Visa

The purpose of the ENS is to allow Australian employers to fill highly skilled positions with suitably qualified migrants. The scheme is designed to assist employers in who are unable to meet their skilled Australian workforce needs from the local labour market. There are three different streams under which an applicant may qualify for an ENS visa:

Temporary Residence Transition Stream

For applicants who have held a 457 visa to work in the nominated position with the nominating employer for at least the last 2 years.

Employer

The business seeking to employ you must:

still be actively and lawfully operatinga business in Australia;

have met its training benchmarks as a 457 standard business sponsor

genuinely need you to continue to work in the nominated position.

Position

The position to be filled must be:

full-time and available for at least 2 years from the date that the ENS visa is granted

the same as (or very closely related to) the position that you have been employed in as a subclass 457 visa holder for the last 2 years

subject to terms and conditions of employment (including wage/salary) that are no worse than those provided to Australians working in the same position for the same business (or in the same local area, if there are no equivalent positions with the business).

Visa Applicant

As the visa applicant, you must (unless a specific exemption applies):

have held a subclass 457 visa to work in the nominated position (or a very closely related position) for the nominating employer for at least the last 2 years

have competent English

be under 50 years of age

meet any mandatory licensing, registration or professional membership requirements.

Direct Entry Stream

For applicants who are applying directly from overseas, or who for any other reason do not meet the requirements of the Temporary Residence Transition stream (e.g. students in Australia).

Employer

The business seeking to employ you must:

be actively and lawfully operating in Australia

genuinely need for a paid employee to fill the nominated position

have a current training strategy for its existing Australian employees OR if the business is less than 12 months old, have a training plan for future training of its Australian employees.

Position

The position to be filled mustbe:

full-time and available for at least 2 years from the date that the ENS visa is granted;

included on the current Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL) OR included as an eligible occupation on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL)

subject to terms and conditions of employment (which includes the wage/salary) that are no worse than those provided to Australians working in the same position for the same business (or in the same local area, if there are no equivalent positions with the business).

Visa Applicant

As the visa applicant, you must(unless a specific exemption applies):

have competent English

have your skills assessed as suitable for the nominated occupation by the relevant skills assessing authority, and have at least three years of full-time experience in this occupation

be under 45 years of age;

meet any mandatory licensing, registration or professional membership requirements.

Agreement Stream

For applicants who are sponsored through a labour agreement.

The labour or regional migration agreement must be negotiated with the Australian government before your employer lodges a nomination application and you lodge a visa application.

The agreement must explain why overseas workers are required to fill the employer's specific skill shortages, and state how many workers are required.

The agreement also sets out the requirements that applicants must fulfil e.g. age, skill and English language criteria. Semi-skilled positions may be considered for inclusion in the agreement.

Helping you, helping others

Migration Plus adds value to the community in which it works. At least 5% of our profit goes towards our contributions to what we call Step Up and Reach Out which assists selected young people from Australia and around the world who choose to improve their position in life through education and learning. Read more

Registration and regulatory information

Migration Plus is a long established, Australian based privately owned independent immigration consultancy with a team of highly skilled OMARA Registered Migration Agents who represent our clients from around the world. Migration Plus provides fee-based services in addition to the official Government application fees and disbursements to advise, assist and represent our clients through the complex visa application process.

All decisions for granting of a visa remain with the Australian Government, subject to lodging a valid application using the forms or electronic lodgement systems available on the Government website and meeting the relevant criteria. Migration Plus is not affiliated with the Australian Government. We act independently in assisting and representing our clients interests, we advocate for our clients. The Australian Government registers Migration Agents – all our Agents are registered under that system. We are also licensed to provide Continuing Professional Development to Migration Agents and we belong to the Migration Institute of Australia. We take great pride and offer exceptional professionalism in helping you achieve your immigration goal.